Looking to improve your Year 2 child’s spelling? Read this article for 3 effective tips to prepare your Year 2 child for Year 3 English.
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Your child is in Year 2 and you want them to improve in spelling before beginning Year 3. The OC Exam and the Selective School Exam loom ahead. But how should you start preparing? In this guide, we will provide you with 3 strategies that you can use to give your child a strong foundation in spelling and set them up for success in the following year.
One of the most effective ways to improve spelling is by reading. It is important to read more than just the texts that are set for school.
Other than books, there are also many other alternatives. It is beneficial to know what your child enjoys and encourage them to read up on those areas of interest. By taking advantage of your child’s hobbies, it creates greater enjoyment which develops a habit of reading.
For children who enjoy sports, give them sport articles to read. And, for those who enjoy travelling, have them read reviews and travel articles for the country they want to visit. For those who enjoy card games such as Yugioh, even reading card descriptions is beneficial to improve their spelling.
After reading, give them a spelling quiz based on challenging words from that particular text. This will expand your child’s vocabulary and spelling abilities.
Constantly seeing words through reading will naturally improve your child’s spelling.
Furthermore, it can be even more effective to read it out loud, reinforcing the phonetics of the words. Speaking forces your child to sound out the words, which the brain is more likely to remember.
Thus, letting your child read up on their areas of interest will give them extra practice with a wide range of words. This will improve their spelling, setting your child up for success in Year 3 English.
In the Matrix Year 3 English course, our expert teachers will help your child develop their spelling with regular tests. Online reporting lets you watch them improve.
Reviewing words each week is an essential spelling tip to ensure mistakes aren’t repeated. This can be as simple as checking your child’s weekly spelling test and then going through the mistakes.
Mistakes happen. That is unavoidable. However, it is important to learn from the mistakes and make sure they aren’t repeated.
Write out the correct spelling of every mistake a set number of times a day over the next couple of days. The extended time will allow the brain to process the mistake and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
For example, from one mistake in a weekly spelling test, write and read out loud the word 10 times a day for the next few days. As the mistake is corrected, it is one extra word your child can spell correctly.
Done consistently over a period of time, their spelling will gradually improve, errors will gradually decrease and your child will be prepared for Year 3 English.
The best way to learn is by having fun. Although spelling sounds like something you can’t have much fun with, the opposite is true!
Many games can be centred around spelling. This can be as simple as having a weekly set of spelling words and then picking a word and spelling it together. This only needs two people: you and your child! Take turns saying one letter of the word and the other person continuing.
Social learning makes it more engaging. Other games such as Scrabble and Wordscapes are great learning tools.
Making it a game makes the child want to win, increasing the enjoyment of learning the spelling words.
Watching TV can actually help kids learn to read! This spelling strategy means they can watch their favourite show, but with subtitles on. Do this during the child’s recreational time. By having subtitles on a show, they will see and hear the words, learning at the same time they’re having fun.
As children expand their vocabulary – by seeing and hearing more words – it becomes easier for them to spell out new and challenging words.
Methods such as spelling games and watching shows with subtitles make spelling enjoyable. This is an essential strategy to improve your child’s spelling in Year 2.
Creating a routine with these 3 strategies with your child will boost their marks before Year 3! Teaching them the importance of reading, reviewing mistakes to ensure they’re not repeated, and increasing enjoyment of the subject through games will prepare your child for spelling in Year 2 and beyond.
Written by June Heo
June launched the popular Matrix Blog in 2011 to make high-quality resources accessible to all students. Before working at Matrix she was a news producer at Sky News.
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